


I'm here now

by Delso



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Comforting Ross, Emotional Finn, Other, Worried Ross, protective Ross
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-13 10:34:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9119848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delso/pseuds/Delso
Summary: The Bartons have all been too caught up in their own grief after the death of James that they haven't noticed that Finn is slowly breaking down and crumbling.Until Ross does.





	

It was about 2 am and Moses had been up all night crying, Ross had finally managed to get him settled and was exhausted to say the least. He headed down stairs to fetch a glass of water before going to bed himself. He was just taking his first sip when he heard fumbling outside the front door. At first he was alarmed and headed for the door, only to come face to face with an extremely drunk Finn. Finn stumbled forward and Ross by instinct caught him and steadied him.

"Whoa, careful there bro! Why are you so drunk?" Ross said attempting a jokey tone to cover up his growing concern for his little brother. 

Finn pushed himself away from Ross barely standing up, he stumbled into the kitchen mumbling something along the lines of 'I'm fine, stop worrying'. But Ross wasn't having any of it, his brother wasn't a big drinker so there had to be a reason he was in this state, and if someone had caused this they would be in big trouble when Ross got his hands on them. 

"Hey, hey I can see you're not okay Finn. I'm your big brother, you can tell me anything you know that don't you?" Ross said in the softest voice he could manage, sensing that this issue was bigger than he originally thought.

Finn glanced at him for a second, and that's when Ross saw all the pain, tears and heart ache that he hadn't seen in a long time. But Finn immediately stared at the ground again, as if he was shielding himself from Ross. That hurt. Ross didn't like that Finn had a guard up with him, and he was going to smash it down. 

"I-It h-hurts" Finn stammered, getting caught on his words.

Ross immediately panicked, was Finn hurt? What happened? He quickly went over to Finn and checked him over for any sign of injury, and when he didn't find one he turned to Finn and took his face in his hands so Finn was forced to look at him.

"What hurts Finn? Tell me Hun" Ross asked, holding Finn like he was made of glass. 

"H-he's gone Ross." 

Those 3 words were all Ross needed to piece together the puzzle. Dad. How could Ross have been so stupid?! Of course Finn wasn't okay, of course he wasn't coping with the death of their father. It all made sense now, Finn disappearing all the time, the late nights, the lack of emotion. His baby brother was falling apart in front of his eyes and he was too caught up in worrying about himself to notice. That broke Ross's heart. 

"Oh Finn, It's okay baby I'm here now" Ross said, voice laced with regret.

Finn just broke down, sobs wracking his small frame. Ross quickly gathered him in his arms and led them to the couch, he was holding Finn so tightly as though he too might disappear, just like their dad. 

"I'm so sorry Finn, i'm your big brother and i'm meant to protect you and I've failed. I have been so focused on my own pain I've blocked yours out. But i'm here now and i'm not leaving you, we're going to get through this together." Ross was pouring his heart out, realizing how selfish he had been. 

"It's okay Ross, you've been hurt by this too, and you've had mum, Moses and Pete to worry about. I'll be fin-e" Finns voice broke at the end, revealing that he won't be fine and that he's barely holding on.

"No Finn, you and Moses are are my main priority and always will be, it's always been me and you, and i'm so so sorry I haven't been there for you" Ross says in a pleading tone, knowing that Finn will probably forgive him as he's got such a kind heart, but also knowing he won't ever forgive himself for this. 

Finn doesn't respond, he simply digs his nails into his palms, Ross notices and sees some blood drawn. He immediately takes Finn's hands in his own scared by Finns actions. 

"Finn! Stop that, you're hurting yourself!" Ross says urgently.

"It helps, I don't know why" Finn says almost ashamed of himself.

Ross immediately thinks the worst and his heart drops, no no no. The thought of his baby brother hurting himself to try and stop the pain makes him feel as though there is a rope around his heart that's tightening.

"Finn...Hun, I need you to tell me if you've done anything else like that?" Ross says, his usual confident self replaced with this nervous wreak.

"No, I haven't don't worry. I mean, I've thought about it, taking the pain away but i couldn't ever do that to you guys." Finn says, sounding so weak and fed up.

Ross lets out a large sigh of relief and vows to himself that he will never let his baby brother out of his sight and that he will always protect him from the cruel world. 

"Thank God. Whenever you feel like that again Finn I want you to come to me, doesn't matter what time, i'll be there. I love you so much baby brother." Ross says truthfully.

" I love you too Ross" Finn murmurs as his sobs slowly turn into regular breathing as he falls asleep tucked into Ross. 

Ross just stares at him for a while, wondering how long his brother had looked so frail and defeated, and wondering how he had managed to ignore it for so long. He remembered doing things like this when Finn was little and had a nightmare, Ross would comfort and protect him like the strong big brother he was. He promised himself that he would get himself and Finn through this. So he picked up Finn and held him close to his chest and carried him upstairs to his bedroom. He placed Finn in his bed and got in after him, holding Finn close, terrified that he could have lost him. He kissed Finn's head and whispered "I'm here now" and gently fell asleep to the quiet snores of his little brother.


End file.
